INTERVIEW: Subsource |
For those of you who braved the Rocksound tent on Sunday afternoon, you were in for a major treat as Guildford's own Subsource completely belied their local status and packed the place out. Better known acts on bigger stages had a less busy and manic crowd, and with Subsource's raucous live blend of rave, punk, breaks, drumstep and a huge helping of charisma, those there knew they were witnessing future stars. So naturally, TGTG grabbed an interview (although we should note, like the Nell Bryden interview, due to a constant barrage of noise, a bit of swearing and our own slightly bevvied ways, this is the abridged version...)
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TGTG: Subsource, you've got 24 hours with which to party. Money is no object. How do you go about it?
Subsource: I think we'd have to take an entire crowd of fans, set up a huge rig and crew together and just hold a massive free party with as much drink as everyone needs!
TGTG: What's getting the most rotation on your iPod at the moment?
Subsource: We're listening to a lot of Shining, who are like a Norweigan jazz death metal outfit, a lot of drumstep, stuff like Noisia and Spor, and we're loving Gallows at the moment.
(TGTG drunkenly mumbles that they saw Gallows recently. They are a lot nicer about this than they perhaps should have been having just finished their set.)
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TGTG: Who would you like to party with, dead or alive?
Subsource: Can we have more than one person?
TGTG: Go for it, many as you fancy.
Subsource: Well we'd have to have Keith Moon in there, Charles Mingus (American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist). Then we'd have Jeff Bridges, but ONLY as the dude from The Big Lebowski, Rod Hull without Emu and Bill Bailey. Also, we'd have to go for Trent Reznor, but we're not sure how much fun he'd be...
TGTG: An eclectic mix. Finally, a deeper question, which song do you wish you'd written?
Subsource (barely even thinking about it): 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' - it's a timelessly brilliant song that'll always get the crowd going, and the build-up and drop is like dance, drum & bass - crashing into the chorus. It'd have to be that.
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FRIDAY |
Friday at GuilFest kicked off with unspectacular weather, but some awesome bands. While Hadouken! and The South graced the TGTG signing tent, Nell Bryden (see our interview here) saw her profile raised considerably with her blinding mix of country-blues and soulful pop - and in turn doubled the crowd who heard something a bit special on the TGTG stage. Later, Dreadzone packed out our stage and saw it spill over when their booming dub and reggae sound coincided with a staggering sunset on the horizon, ensuring that TGTG's stage was one of the must-go places on Friday evening!
(Pictured is the legendary Andy Hills of Live and Let Live, who kept the 70s Disco pumping all weekend!)
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Elsewhere, Orbital did what you'd expect and put on a show that you felt privileged to be watching, their distinctive head-lamps bobbing while effortlessly mixed, brilliant techno flowed out of the speakers. Over in the always-packed and moving Funky End Dance Tent, Sub Focus dropped one of the biggest, meanest and grimiest sets of drum n' bass you'll see this year, while making TGTG curse that the tent needed to be bigger to inhabit all the revellers, while local lad Mikey Dubz (pictured) had the unenviable task of following up one of the biggest names in the scene with his own blend of liquid and pounding d'n'b - and succeeded spectacularly, keeping TGTG swigging on cider for longer than they should. Show your support and listen to his mix here!
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SATURDAY |
With the sun now fully blazing over Stoke Park, the increase in attendees was noticable, and the number of young faces cropping up meant only one thing - Tinie Tempah and N-Dubz, both playing just an hour apart. The former caused a near riot as the Funky End Dance Tent had to be cordoned off to stop the stampede of people there, and when the man started playing, needless to say getting photos was tricky. Short but sweet, Tinie ran through his hits at a blistering pace, ensuring the likes of 'Pass Out' and 'Frisky' caused the already heaving throng to lose it totally!
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N-Dubz were, of course, on the main stage and despite running a bit late, Dappy, Tulisa and Fazer performed with all the gusto and charisma you'd expect of young and successful artists. The sea of people was perhaps only really comparable with the mighty Quo on Sunday, and with costume changes, cover versions including 'Meet Me Halfway' by Black Eyed Peas and their own monster hits including 'Number One', the throng was suitably happy when the guys had wrapped up.
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Elsewhere on Saturday, Kid Creole and the Coconuts injected a healthy dose of funk onto the main stage, while over on the TGTG stage The Crazy World of Arthur Brown showed that, despite being famous for over 40 years, he could still cut it, his obvious influence on the likes of Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson showing that he is still the king of showmen!
Hawkwind (pictured) drew an enormous crowd while their seismic boom of psychedelia blew away the TGTG stage, and before the madness of Tinie Tempah almost caused carnage, Nero did a pretty good job of starting it by themselves, dropping a filthy set of dubstep that caused the ground to shake. All in all, a pretty hectic and eclectic day for TGTG to negotiate!
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SUNDAY |
There were no Sunday blues (unless you include Rock Sound Cave headliners The King Blues, of course...) at GuilFest this year, with the sun still scorching the earth and the crowd still unwavering in their love of the music. The Rock Choir deserve a mention for their fun attitude, great song choice, blinding sound and ability to play TWO sets, but Sunday belonged to the old boys. Status Quo, who played to an ocean of faces on the main stage and provided a smack to the face of the disposable nature of today's big acts - well, making a crowd of thousands bounce nearly 50 (50!!) years after starting out is an accomplishment, isn't it? Otherwise, 10cc (pictured) belted out their eclectic mix of rock n' roll to an increasingly excitable crowd, and the amazing Level 42 (NB: Mark King is one of the best bassists ever) showed that if Saturday was the turn of the bright young things of British music, Sunday was the day of the classics!
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What else? Well, on TGTG's stage, Seth Lakeman (pictured) showed us all why he was nominated for the prestigous Mercury Music Prize with his pop-tinged folk and brilliant fiddle-playing, even duetting with Simon Friend of The Levellers to show that great music spreads across the generations. The Twang's fantastic set showed why their good-time blend of jangly indie and attitude will bring a smile to the most miserable festival go-er, while Subsource (see our interview!) blew away the crowd over in the Rock Sound Cave.
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Finally, just enough room to tell you all about Friction brilliantly brought the Funky End to a frenzy in time for Chase and Status to blow them away, their hard and heavy drum & bass meaning that GuilFest 2010 finished with a bang! Right, time for some sleep...
(PS, that pic there is of the afformentioned Twang, who closed TGTG's stage with aplomb!)
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THIS WEEKEND: TGTG OFFERS TO DIE FOR!
Now GuilFest weekend is over. Boo. However, keep next weekend in your diaries, and make sure you've got that TGTG Offer Card handy, because this is going to be awesome...
From Thursday the 22nd until Monday the 26th July, there will be a huge array of unique and one-off deals that you treasured card-holders will have access to. Watch this space over the coming days to get the full details on this awesome event - taking place across Guildford. Click here to see the list of offers, and print it out to consult!
So, pencil those days in your diary and make sure that there card is in your wallet, because you'll be able to enjoy an entire weekend out with it. And it doesn't cost you a single penny. We must be mad...
Sponsored Link
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